Abstract
In 2012, Japanese health insurance started covering perioperative oral management (POM) for patients with malignant tumors, cardiovascular diseases, and who require organ transplants, etc. Thereafter, the number of patients who have undergone POM has been increasing, as people become more concerned about oral health care. Good oral management should reduce systemic diseases caused by oral bacteria. The purpose of this preliminary study is to assess whether the introduction of health insurance coverage for POM has had a positive effect on reducing the incidence of bacteremia caused by oral bacteria.
The results of blood cultures were reviewed through the period from 2007 to 2013. Prevalence of bacteremia was constant, ranging from 12.6% to 17.0% during the study period. Before the introduction of POM insurance (during the years 2007 to 2011), the incidence of oral bacteria in the positive blood cultures was also uniform, ranging from 5.7% to 8.7% (mean 7.1 ± 1.2%, 95%C.I. 5.69-8.59%). However, the incidence of oral bacteria dropped to 4.1% (2012) and 2.6% (2013) after insurance coverage for POM was introduced. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of oral bacteria between the periods 2007-2011 and 2012-2013. In addition, a significant increase in patients who underwent POM after the insurance coverage began was observed.
The results of this study suggest the possibility that the introduction of insurance coverage for POM, which might bring favorable influence upon the management of oral health care, consequently brought a positive effect upon the reduction of systemic infection caused by oral bacteria.
